The Not-So-Great Wine Heist of 2013

The Thanksgiving Day heist that swiped nearly $650,000 worth of privately owned wine from the lockers at SoDo’s Esquin Wine Storage appeared at first to be a carefully orchestrated job straight out of a movie. But within days police tracked down the alleged thieves, Samuel Harris and Luke Thesing, thanks in large part to the duo’s bumbling.

The Boom that Wasn't

Harris and Thesing allegedly tampered with a natural gas line in a vacant space next to Esquin, which could have resulted in a catastrophic explosion—had employees not noticed the smell when they came in the next morning.

The Haul

$648,000 of wine...

Which Harris allegedly planned to sell for $125,000

The Escape

Harris’s plan also outlined what he’d do after the heist:

Change his appearance

Pack his belongings

Obtain an international driver’s license

Leading authorities to conclude he planned to head overseas and live the high life…on $125,000

This article appeared in the
February 2014
issue of
Seattle Met
Magazine.